Deborah Taleb

CELTA (Cert), TEFL (Dip)
Senior Management Associate, Spearhead Training, U.A.E.

Deborah is a highly skilled professional trainer, specialising in Business English, Personal Development, Customer Service, Supervisory Management and Business Skills. She is a U.K. national, who has lived and worked in France and the U.A.E., and is currently a resident of Abu Dhabi. She has a unique combination of teaching English within the U.A.E. education sector, having worked in the Higher Colleges of Technology and other prominent U.A.E. academic institutions. More recently, she has worked on teaching and training projects in the public and private sectors, including the Abu Dhabi Police Officers Training College, Etihad Airways, The Presidential Flight, The U.A.E. Central Bank, and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Deborah is CELTA qualified (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) and DELTA trained (Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults), and delivers high quality training courses with high energy, and passion for her subjects.

After completing her education in 1980, Deborah began her career within the U.K. Civil Service. Promotion in 1983 brought the responsibility of training newcomers to her department, and in 1988 Deborah decided to move into training within the Civil Service training section.

In January 1991, she moved to the private sector to further develop her communication skills and language abilities. A move to Paris enabled her to master the French language, and a two year management post with ‘The Disney Store’ in Paris, enabled her to gain valuable experience in sales, customer service, and staff management.

With the arrival of her first child in 1996, Deborah decided to take a career break and studied to obtain a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Diploma in 1998. This enabled her to move into the English Language field, taking a post in December 1998 as a Corporate Teacher with a new English Language School in France – the ‘Wall Street Institute’. As the school expanded, Deborah became involved with both the development of specialised programmes for business people, and the organization of the growing management structure. In June 1999, this resulted in her being appointed to the post of manager for the ‘Wall Street Institute’ school in the centre of Paris.

In November 2001, Deborah moved to Abu Dhabi with her husband and two daughters, where she restarted her teaching career with English Language and Business English at the ADNOC English Language Training Centre. In addition to this, she became involved in preparing and tutoring students for TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language), PET (Preliminary English Test) and IELTS (International English Language Testing System) examinations.

During the past ten years Deborah has taught at many of the leading tertiary institutes in Abu Dhabi, including Abu Dhabi University, A.D.E.C. (Abu Dhabi Education Council), Abu Dhabi Men’s College, and The British Council. She has continued her passion for English Language teaching, while at the same time widening her field of expertise by moving on to train in Personal Development courses, such as Communication Skills, Telephone Skills, Time Management, Customer Service, etc.

In 2008, Deborah decided to update her training skills, successfully completing a one month intensive CELTA. This re-awakened her interest in furthering her own skills and she has recently completed a further diploma – DELTA (Diploma of English Language Teaching to Adults). She is currently working on her Master’s Degree in Educational Management and TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) with Aston University, Birmingham, U.K.

In January 2011, Deborah joined Spearhead Training, Abu Dhabi, as a Senior Management Associate, with the task of focusing on Professional Business English, Personal Development, Customer Service training, and a range of Administration and support courses.

Deborah’s key areas of expertise include:

Business Writing Skills
>Business English Foundation Course
>Writing For Business (Level 1)
>Advanced Writing For Business (Level 2)
>Report Writing – How To Structure A Report For Maximum Effect

Personal Development
>Self And Time Management
>Stress Management
>Developing Effective Interpersonal & Communication Skills
>Brilliant Body Language!

Management & Leadership
>Coaching For Optimum Performance
>How To Conduct Effective Meetings
>Change Management
>Creative Problem Solving & Decision Making
>Supervisory Management Skills – For 1st / 2nd Level Supervisors
>Planning & Organizing Skills

HR Management & Training
>Train The Trainer

Customer Service
>Customer Focused Management
>Etiquette For Excellent Customer Service
>Improve Your Telephone Skills – How To Win & Keep Customers
>Telephone Skills & Customer Care

Sales & Marketing
>Presentation Skills – Making A Powerful Impact On Any Audience
>Advanced Presentation Skills

Administrative Skills
>Professional Secretarial & Administrative Skills
>The Perfect PA – For PAs & Executive Secretaries
>Office Management